Hidden Passions
by Allura
Summary: The Digidestined take a little visit to the digital world and falls into something strange.


Hidden Passions  
By Allura  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the character nor am I making any money. ( something I seriously need.) This story is for recreational purposes only. Please do not sue.  
  
Warning: Okay, so according to FFRA guidelines. This is a rated PG-13 story due to content and I hope you all like it.   
  
Note: This is my sequel to "Starry Starry Night." This story will take place before the episode, Opposites Attract but after the episode, Crest of Kindness. Any discaptincies will have to be excused due to my poor memory. Thank you.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hidden Passions (Part 1)  
  
It was hot, too hot for any normal person to be walking about in the digital world. The sun was bearing down and the grainy sand reflected the heat, making the desert seem like a vast ocean of thermal torture chamber. The crackling heat was making it impossible to concentrate on anything but the next step.  
  
"Maybe we should turn back?" Yolei suggested as she poured water onto the handkerchief in her hand and wiped her burning brows. "I feel rather faint."  
  
"No," Davis said insistently as he tugged at his sweaty shirt. "We have to find that Arukenimon. Who knows what evil she's created while we're resting."  
  
"We're not going to be any good to anyone if we get heat stroke." Yolei complained but never stopped moving. She smiled gratefully at Hawkmon as he fly nearby fanning her with his wings.  
  
Ken looked at the overly heated girl and sighed. She did look terribly uncomfortable. Her face was beginning to take a flushed look and the heat was not getting any better. "Davis, I think Yolei is right." The grateful look from Yolei gave him confidence. He's go up against anything to make her feel just a little better. "There's no point in keeping this up if we all end up ill. The heat is becoming unbearable, even for the digimons." He had moved to stand in front of Wormmon, putting the little guy in his shadow, in the shade.   
  
"I'm okay, Ken." Wormmon rasped out even though he was feeling the heat more than anyone else. He could literally feel himself being cooked by the sun.  
  
"No, you're not." Ken said peering closely at him. "You're becoming way over heated."  
  
"Let's turn back." Cody said in his usual solemn tone. "The digimons need their rest to fight if we meet up with Arukenimon and Mummymon."  
  
"But..." Davis wanted to argue but spotted Kari.   
  
She had reached over to TK and asked to lean against him as she was becoming dizzy from the heat. Her face was flushed and looked feverish. TK had her in one arm now, whispering words of encouragement while trying to pour water down her throat with his other hand.   
  
"Hey, TS. What are you doing?" Davis shouted, angry that TK's got his arms around Kari.  
  
"Kari's sick. I think she's got heat stroke." TK explained with concern, as Kari couldn't seem to get the water down her burning throat.   
  
"Oh." Davis looked stupidly at his shoes. He hadn't really been paying close attention to those around him and how they were feeling. "I guess we should turn back then."  
  
"Geeze," Yolei commented sarcastically. "I wonder why we didn't all think of that."  
  
"Come on," Cody said as he and Armadillomon started toward the TV that had landed them in the middle of no where. "Let' get out of this heat."  
  
"TK?" Kari whispered, her head left horribly dizzy. She didn't like admitting it but she was getting sick from all the heat. "I'm not sure if I can walk."  
  
TK looked down at her with concern blue eyes. She looked horribly pale and sick now. Her face was no longer flushed, it was sunburn and had gone white. The dizziness she complained about was making her eyes glassy. "It's okay, only one of us has to."  
  
Though he would have never considered himself strong, he lifted Kari easily into his arm and started after Cody. It was amazing what kind of motivation can give one strength. Davis stared after them with his jaw on the ground.  
  
Veemon looked at Kari and TK then back at Davis. "Close your mouth Davis before a Flymon gets in."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Izzy looked at the monitor again, wondering if he was looking at it right. "Hey guys, come here and look at this." When no one responded, he turned in his chair to look at Sora and Tai on his bed, with their heads together talking quietly. "HEY GUYS!"  
  
Sora flushed red. "Sorry Izzy. What is it?"  
  
Tai grinned without any shame knowing that Izzy would understand even though he was currently rolling his eyes with exasperation.   
  
"I want you guys to come look at this. Genni e-mail me a subterranean map of the digital world."  
  
"Sub-what?" Tai asked as he scooted off the bed.   
  
"Subterranean." Izzy said switching to a top-down map. "It would appear that several areas if the digital world has sublevels to them. Kind of like the Paris sewerage system."  
  
"You mean like a catacomb of some sort?" Sora asked, looking at the maze on the screen. "One could get really lost in those things."  
  
"Catacomb?" Tai looked at now. His mind working furiously trying to understand what Izzy was saying. "Like those mazes in the Indiana Jones movie?"  
  
"Exactly!" Izzy said excitedly. "According to these maps, not all of them have been explored. Someone could easily get completely turned around in one of those places. Remember Piemon's castle? Well think of this as the castle a hundred times more difficult and dangerous."  
  
"We should warn others." Sora said with grave concern. She's got a real bad feeling about this. Every time Genni warns them about something, it usually ends up that they fall into it already.  
  
"I'll e-mail them now." Izzy said turning back to this computer. "You two can resume your making out on my bed now."  
  
Sora blushed, whacking Izzy over the head while Tai merely laughed.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kari leaned her head against TK's shoulder while keeping her arms around his neck. It was nice being back in his arms again. They haven't had a chance to really be alone since that night under the stars. Now there was a night she would never forget. Between school and battling Arukenimon, they can't seem to find any time to be together.  
  
Beep, beep/  
  
"Okay, who's got mail?" Yolei asked, happy with the world now that the prospect of leaving this desert was close at hand.  
  
"Me," Kari said with a sigh. She didn't really want to look as she was too comfortable in TK's arms to move. But it might be something important. "It's a e-mail from Izzy."  
  
"What's it say?" Cody asked as he unbuttoned the top buttons of this shirt. The heat was beginning to effect him as well.  
  
"Izzy say that there are subterranean mazes in the digital world and we should be careful not to step into them." Kari frowned. "What does he mean 'step into them'?"  
  
TK groaned. "Oh no."  
  
"What is it, TK?" Ken asked seeing the look of horror in TK's eyes. "What's wrong?"  
  
Kari looked at the boy who had stopped. "Am I too heavy?"  
  
"I'll hold Kari." Davis said moving toward them.  
  
"No, you're not too heavy." TK said reassuringly. "It's just that every time Izzy or Genni warns us about something, it usually causes it to happen."  
  
Ken grinned. "You mean like they jinx it by saying it."  
  
TK nodded with another groan before resuming his walk while Ken laughed it off easily.  
  
Unfortunately, TK happened to be right. As they got moving again, the sand shifted under their feet.  
  
"What the..."  
  
"Hey, the sand is...."  
  
"Oh no..."  
  
"Ahhhhhh........" No one had time to react as the ground gave away under their feet and they slipped into the earth like sand sliding in an hourglass, disappearing from the surface.  
  
To be continued.......  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hidden Passions (part 2)  
  
Cody groaned in pain as he sat up slowly in pitch-blackness. He couldn't remember much after the initial heart-stopping drop into the sand. He thought for a brief moment that he was going to die. But judging by the pain on his butt where he landed, he was in neither heaven nor hell.  
  
"Hello?" His voice echoed in the darkness. "Hello? Anyone there?"  
  
Silence greeted him and he wondered if he was separated from the others or the others were merely still unconscious. He preferred the second scenario but with their luck, they were all separated from each other.   
  
Digging through his backpack, he grabbed the small flashlight and turned it on. What ever he was expecting, he didn't expect to be stuck in what appeared to be a long, dark, stony tunnel. The walls were high, a good twenty feet with spiky tops. The stones looked smooth, like it had been made by men and not natural at all.   
  
With a sigh, Cody got up slowly. "Looks like I'm going to have to look for them."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"Hello? Anyone there?" Davis shouted as he shone his flashlight this way and that. The cavern he fell into was not too spacious and rather damp with lots of sand. His head hurt where he had hit himself hard on the fall. The cavern had no exits except for the small opening in the sand covered ceiling that he appeared to have dropped in from.   
  
"Hey, anyone up there? Can anyone hear me? I'm trapped, I need help!" He continued to shout. He looked about and sighed. "It would figure that I get stuck here all alone. Where are the others?"  
  
He got up and shouted again. "Veemon? Kari? Ken? Anyone?"  
  
The cavern vibrated as if something great had just rammed against the outside rocks. "Hey, maybe the others are trying to get me out."  
  
Little does Davis realized that it was hardly the case. The others all had problems of their own.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Ken groped around in the dark for anything to tell him where he was and if the others were all right. The fall had been long and he remembered it well up to the point of impact. That had been rather sudden and painful.  
  
He remembered reaching out to Yolei as they fell. He didn't want her to be scared even though it looked like they were about to fall to their deaths. She had been terrified, her mouth wide open in a scream of terror. He could only hope that he's presence at the moment gave her a little comfort. They had held hands for most of the fall, but had been wrenched apart toward the end.   
  
His hands touched something soft and warm. He frowned in reaction. What is it?  
  
Moving his hands, along the length of the softness, he soon realized that it was long and round, and much too warm. He could feel his face go up in flames as he finally got that it was a body he was touching, someone's leg. He could only hope that he was not a female body had just been feeling up. Than again, he didn't want be to be feeling up a male body either.   
  
Moving cautiously so as not to step on the person, he moved in the direction he hoped was the head. "Hello?"  
  
A groaned sounded and Ken understood that it was a girl's voice.  
  
"Yolei?"  
  
"Oh, why can't we ever land on something soft?" Yolei complained before trying to get up. "Ken?"  
  
"I'm right here." He reached out in the darkness and touched her, trying to give her his position in the pitch darkness.  
  
"KEN!" Yolei leaned back away from his searching hands as it accidentally rested on her breast. "Get your hands off my chest."  
  
"I...I...I'm sorry." Ken just wanted to die now. "I didn't mean...."  
  
"Oh forget it." Yolei said reaching out with her own hand for his. "Not your fault that this place is blacker than ink on white paper."  
  
"Yolei, you have to understand. I would never..."  
  
"I know, I know. You're too much of a gentleman to do anything so inappropriate as to touch a girl without permission first." Yolei grinned in the darkness. She could almost imagine just how red his face had gone. "Look around....er.....search around, my backpack landed somewhere nearby. There should be a flashlight in it."  
  
Ken let go of Yolei's hand reluctantly and began in grope around in the darkness again. He could only hope that he doesn't stumble on to another body before he gets to the backpack and the flashlight inside.  
  
"Ken?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Know where the others are?"  
  
"No, but I'm sure they're okay."  
  
"I hope so." Yolei said. "Keep looking for that darn backpack."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
TK cradled Kari's head in his lap and looked around the catacombs with interest. Izzy had been right when he informed that the area was vast. The tunnel they had landed in appeared to be vast and long. It was impossible to tell just where they were and how they were going to get out.   
  
"Izzy and his big mouth. If he hadn't said anything, we probably won't be in the mess now." TK laughed at himself over that ridiculous logic.  
  
Kari groaned and rolled over slowly. "What happened?"  
  
"We stepped into those subterranean mazes that Izzy was warning us about." TK said with a grin. His natural good humor was shining through now that the initial shock had worn off.  
  
"Oh great," Kari sighed and looked about the area shown by the light from the flashlight in TK's hand. "So you were right, Izzy jinxed us."  
  
TK smiled in reaction to Kari's disgruntle look. "Could be worse."  
  
"How?"  
  
"We could be stuck here all alone. At least we have each other."  
  
Kari nodded with a smile. "There's that."  
  
"We should probably find the others and the digimons."  
  
Kari nodded again and looked around. "Where do you think that others are?"  
  
"Probably landed in other sections of the maze." He shone the light upward toward the ceiling. Unfortunately the darkness was so thick that it would not penetrate it. "This is going to be a long day."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"TK!"  
  
"KARI!"  
  
"DAVIS!"  
  
"YOLEI!"  
  
"KEN!"  
  
"CODY!"  
  
"I don't think this is working guys." Hawkmon complained as he flapped wings. The labyrinth was vast and the walls were too high and seem to grown higher each time they try to get over it.   
  
"Hawkmon is right." Armadillomon said as he sat on his hunch. "We'll never find them by shouting ourselves to death."  
  
"How did we get separated from them so completely." Patamon wondered out loud to no one in particular.  
  
"Who cares, we're separated." Gatomon growled. "We need to find them a quickly as possible."  
  
"She's right." Wormmon sighed and looked toward the right. "And I can feel Ken that way."  
  
"So is Yolei." Hawkmon commented.   
  
"But TK is not over there. He's further up this tunnel." Patamon moved toward the opposite side.  
  
"Hum..." Gatomon scratched her ear. "Looks like the digidestined are separated from each other as well as us. Well, we'll just have to find them."  
  
"We'll split up and look for them." Veemon said enthusiastically.   
  
"Good idea," Patamon said. "We'll find them faster that way. Let's go."  
  
Gatomon and Patamon took off toward one direction while Hawkmon and Wormmon bounded off toward the opposite direction.  
  
Veemon and Armadillomon looked at one another. "I guess we're traveling together then."  
  
"Looks like it."  
  
To be continued.......  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hidden Passions (part 3)  
  
"Ouch" Yolei rubbed the top of her head as she sat back on her legs. After having just smashed the top of her head against Ken's, she decided that crawling around in the dark is not working too well.  
  
"Ah..." Ken rubbed his head vigorously. "You okay?"  
  
"Ask me again when my head stops ringing." Yolei groaned and sat on the ground. "I take it that you haven't found it yet.  
  
"No, and I think I'm going in circles." Ken said waving hand in front of himself in an attempt to see if his night vision has improved. Unfortunately, without a speck of light, even night vision isn't going to be of much help.  
  
Yolei sighed and continued to rub her hand against her head, causing her air to stick up on all sides. "I think we need a plan here. All this crawling around is doing us no good."  
  
"Okay," Ken looked up at nothingness and shook his head to clear it. "How about if you hold my hand and we'll do a sweep."  
  
"Sure, though I think you just want to hold my hand." She teased.  
  
"Yolei, I'm sorry about earlier. I wasn't trying...."   
  
Yolei laughed. "I know that Ken. I'm just teasing you. Didn't anyone ever joked around with you, Ichijouji?"  
  
"Not really." He admitted.  
  
Yolei sighed and took his warm hand. "Okay, we're going to do a sweep right?"  
  
"Yeah." He felt her fingers twitch. "Just moved slowly forward and say something if you hit anything."  
  
"Okay, we can do... awww..."  
  
"Yolei?"  
  
"Wall." She said in a gasp as she rubbed her head again. "Move over that way."  
  
Ken sighed and complied. This was going to take a while.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Cody looked at the stonewalls again. They seem familiar now that he's gotten a good look at them. They kind of resembled the wall outside the Kendo Dojo. Smooth, perfectly even, neatly cut. Strange!  
  
The tunnel seems to lead on forever but to nowhere. He's been walking along for what seems like hours. But he's yet to reach anything, much less find anyone. The little junctions did little to help him find his way around this place. In fact, this place was becoming stranger and stranger the longer he was in here.  
  
"Hello? Anyone out there?"  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"TK!" Patamon shouted every few feet. His ears-wings did not pick up any movements anywhere but when he tried to feel fro TK, the closer he moved toward the direction he felt TK was in, the further he seem to get. "TK!"  
  
"Don't waste your breath." Gatomon said as she moved her hand along the sharp spiky walls. Touching the walls would have been painful for her if not for her thick cats claw gloves.   
  
"You can feel Kari near, can't you?" Patamon asked as he gaze with his vivid blue eyes in the dim light of the tunnel. He was careful to avoid the walls, it would be painful to bump into it.   
  
"Yeah, but it doesn't seem to be doing us any good." Gatomon said disheartened.  
  
"Don't be like that. We're going to find them." Patamon said with a smile as bright as the sun had been earlier.  
  
Gatomon looked at Patamon for a moment and smiled reluctantly. "You're so like TK. So full of hope."  
  
His smiled widened. "Well, he is the digidestined of Hope. And I'm his digimon. So I guess I would have to be full of hope too."  
  
Gatomon shrugged. "So how come Kari and I are so different."  
  
Patamon looked puzzled. "You aren't that different. You're both brave and good and keep more inside than is good for you."  
  
Gatomon smiled up at the flying little digimon. "You're a lot wiser than you look, you know that?"  
  
He flapped his ears happily. "Why, thank you!"  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"Hum..."  
  
"What is it Izzy?" Sora asked.  
  
"The kids are gone."  
  
"What?" Tai looked over Izzy's shoulder at the screen. "What do you mean they're gone?"  
  
"I mean, they're gone." Izzy said puzzled as well. "One minute they were showing up on my tracking screen and the next, they're just not there."  
  
"How is that..." The opening of Izzy's bedroom door interrupted Sora.  
  
Joe pushed his glasses up and smiled is greeting before moving out of the way for the new arrival.  
  
"Hi guys!" Mimi waved at them and smiled her sweet smile.  
  
"MIMI!" Sora jumped up and ran to her friend. They two laughed and hugged for a moment while the boys looked on indulgently. "When did you get in?"  
  
"Dad had a last minute business trip so I decided to tag along." She smiled and took a seat on Izzy's bed. "I tried to e-mail you but the battery went dead on my e-mail terminal." She looked over at an obviously worried Izzy. "What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
Izzy frowned but turned back to the computer. He was beginning to have grave suspicions about this. "The kids disappeared off my radar a minute ago."  
  
"What?" Joe moved to stand next to Izzy's chair. "What happened?"  
  
"I'm not too sure. But if it's what I think has happened, the kids are in trouble."  
  
To be continued.....  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hidden Passions (part 4)  
  
Davis turned the flashlight off and sat in the darkness. It seems like hours since he's been in there. There had been no tremors or sounds. All that was there was the harsh silence of the dead. No shifting of sand, sliding of rocks or movement of any kind. It was dead still.  
  
The seconds ticked away and he wondered if he was going to be stuck there forever but shook himself out of the stupor. He was not going to be trapped. There was no way he was going to be stuck in a little cave for the rest of his life. Someone was going to find him.   
  
Veemon would never give up looking. His little buddy would come through for him. Davis was sure of it.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"I'm tired." Veemon said sitting down on the hard ground. "Let's rest for the moment."  
  
"But Cody is just around the corner, I'm sure of it." Armadillomon said looking forward. The tunnels were dim but visible. They just have to get through this area, he was sure his digidestined was nearby.  
  
"My feet are killing me." Veemon complained and rubbed his feet with the bad of this hand. "And I'm tired."  
  
"Come on Veemon, don't you want to find Davis?"   
  
"Sure, but I need to rest for a moment. Why don't you go on ahead. I'll catch up in a minute. Just stick to this main tunnel."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Okay," Armadillomon moved slowly. "I'll see you soon, Veemon."  
  
"Right behind buddy."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
TK held Kari's hand as they moved slowly along the catacombs. The rocks were uneven, but smooth to the touch. It appeared to have been made from running water wearing away at the stone until it was smooth if not even. It was getting cold, and considering how hot they had been earlier, it was an unusual change.  
  
"How can it get so cold?" Kari asked rubbing her arm with her free hand. "It was over hundred degree on the surface not two hours ago."  
  
"Subterranean caverns are usually cool and insulated from heat due to the layer of rock between the cavern and the sun. I read somewhere it could get well below forty degrees underground."  
  
"Oh great," Kari said with a smile. "So first we were going to be cooked and now we're going to be frozen. What a wonderful place this is."  
  
TK smiled and put an arm around Kari's shoulders, allowing her to absorb some of his own body head. He remembers reading something about the sharing of body heat could help save a person from hypothermia. Not that he plans on staying here long enough to test out that theory. They appeared to be going nowhere following this tunnel, not that they had much other choice. All the corridors look the same in this labyrinth.   
  
"I don't understand why we haven't seen anyone yet?" TK commented as he ran his hand long the smooth rock. "We could not have possibly fallen that far away from one another. And besides, our digimons would have undoubtedly be looking for us."  
  
"I know what you mean." Kari said with a shiver. Her body was not retain as much heat she wanted. She hated the fact that she was also the first to get cold or over heated or sick. It was horrible to be the weak one of the group. "TK, I hate to ask, but..."  
  
He pulled her into his arms without her having to say a word. She shivered her thanks. They stood there in the middle of the catacombs, holding one another. Kari buried her face into his shoulder, absorbing his heat while TK looked around the corridor with interesting.   
  
"Something is not quite right around here."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"Ah ha!" Yolei cried in triumph as her hand came in contract with the plastic bag. "I got it."  
  
"All right." Ken got off his knees and sat down on the ground. "Can you find the flashlight?"  
  
"Just a second." Yolei pulled the bag open by feel and memory. Rummaging around, she pulled out a bag of cookies. "Here, Ken. Some food."  
  
"Oh, thank you." He reached out but couldn't find her hand. Instead his hand touched her face. Her skin was smooth and cool against his warm fingers. "I'm sorry." He flushed with embarrassment.  
  
"That's okay." She really didn't mind his touch; he had beautiful hands, long fingered and warm. She pushed the bag toward, hoping to touch him with it. "Here, having some cookies."  
  
"Thanks." He felt the plastic bag brush against his arm and grabbed for it. He caught her wrist long enough to get the bag. She had thin delicate wrist, tiny beneath his hand.   
  
Yolei poked around the backpack again, feeling for the cool steel of the flashlight. "Where is that darn thing? I have so much junk in here that it's impossible to find anything at all."  
  
"Especially in the dark." Ken commented, munching on a sugar cookie. "Hey, you should eat."  
  
"I'll eat when I find that flashlight."  
  
"Eat while you look." Ken said scooting cautiously over. He reached out again, slowly this time to find her hand. He caught her just above the elbow and followed it to her hand.   
  
Yolei shivered at the feel of his hand sliding along her arm. He was gentle, careful and wonderfully sweet. He guided her hand to the cookie bag in his other hand. She took a cookie and put it in her mouth before resuming her search for the illusive flashlight.   
  
"Yolei?"   
  
"Yeah Ken."  
  
"I'm really sorry about..."  
  
"Ken, stop apologizing or I'm going to start thinking that you really did want to..."  
  
"No, really I didn't."  
  
"Are you saying that I'm ugly?"  
  
"No, of course not."  
  
"Are you saying that I'm not good enough?"  
  
"No. Yolei, I...." He stopped. "This is an argument that I have no chance of winning, isn't it?"  
  
"You would be correct there. Now stop apologizing. I said that I forgive you."  
  
Realizing that there really isn't anything more he could say, he merely nodded in the darkness until he realized that she had no way of seeing him as she has yet to find that flashlight. "Okay."   
  
"Yes, here we go." Yolei pulled the long metal contraption out and turned it on.   
  
The small beam did little to alleviate the darkness. They appeared to have landed in the middle of a long wide passage way. The two sides of the wall appeared to have been made from hard-packed grainy sand the color of the desert they had been in only hours before. Symbols of their crests were intricately carved into the sand-walls.   
  
"What the...." Yolei's eyes were wide with incomprehension.  
  
"My thoughts exactly."  
  
To be continued.....  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hidden Passions (part 5)  
  
Patamon put his paw on the wall and frowned. "I can feel TK, like he's right next to this wall."  
  
"Yeah," Gatomon nodded. "I know what you mean. If I close my eyes, I can almost see Kari standing right where that wall is."  
  
Patamon flapped his ears and lifted himself upward. "I don't understand."  
  
"Me either."  
  
"What are we going to do?"  
  
Gatomon frowned with concern. "What can we do? We wait."  
  
Patamon didn't particularly like the idea but he nodded in agreement.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Cody sat on the dirty ground and stared at the blank wall. The light gray color was not offensive to the eye nor was it very pleasant. But it is, after all, just a wall. He had a very bad feeling that no matter what he did, it was not going to make a difference. Something was not quite right with this place.  
  
A part of him realizes that this could very well be a trap of some sort. Yet a part of him could rationally conclude that this was hardly something Arukenimon would come up with. Her method of attack was direct and no-hold-back kind of thing.   
  
But then who would want to trap the digidestined in an elaborate maze?  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"Cody!" Armadillomon yelled. "Cody! Where are you?"  
  
"Anything?" Veemon asked as he sat on the floor again.  
  
"No." Armadillomon frowned. "He's so close, I can feel it."  
  
"Hum.... Maybe it's indigestion." Veemon suggested.  
  
"Maybe but I don't think so. Cody is nearby, I just can't seem to find him." Sitting on his hunch. "I don't get it. Why isn't he answering me?"  
  
"Maybe he can't?"   
  
"But..."  
  
"Who knows what's happened to the humans? Maybe they're all sleeping?" Veemon said.  
  
"But...."  
  
"Or maybe they're eating?"   
  
"Without me?" Armadillomon frowned. "Cody won't eat without me. He's waiting for me. I know it."  
  
Veemon shrugged and wondered where Davis was.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"Ken!" Wormmon attached himself to the wall with caution. The shark rocks did little to help his position. "He's right next to his wall."  
  
"You've been saying that for the past hour." Hawkmon said with a frown.  
  
"You tell me you can't feel Yolei on the other side of the wall."  
  
"You know that I can." Hawkmon frowned at the wall. "And we can't risk trying to blast that wall down if they are on the other side."  
  
"What are we going to do?"  
  
Hawkmon shrugged. "Wait until they move, I guess."  
  
Wormmon frowned at the wall and hoped Ken was all right.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Ken ran his hand long the sandy wall, tracing his hand against the symbols. All the different crests were there all etched into the hard-packed sand wall. "This wall must run for miles."  
  
The small flashlight did not offer too much illumination but enough for them to see that they truly were in the middle of an inescapable maze.  
  
"What is this?" Yolei asked with concern.  
  
"This must be what Izzy was warning us against. The subterranean mazes that he found maps for." Ken explained as he exam the walls a little more closely. "Amazing."  
  
"What is? The walls or the fact that TK was right and Izzy jinxed us?  
  
Ken smiled in reaction. "The wall. They appeared to be very old but very well preserved. I wonder if anyone lives down here in these mazes. Can you imagine what that would be like? To know the secrets of this place and...." He moved closer to examine the wall, lost in his thoughts and ideas.   
  
Yolei frowned. "I know you geniuses are easily fascinated by these things but we are trapped in this place and we have no idea what has happened to the others and our digimons. So could you please tear yourself way from that wall and let's come up with a plan to get out of here?  
  
Ken had the grace to blush. "Sorry. Now, what can I do?"  
  
"You could take a wild guess as to where the others are." Yolei shone the light this way and that.   
  
"They couldn't have gotten that far. Let's see if we can follow these tunnels to somewhere.  
  
"Which way?" Yolei asked looking at both sides of the dark corridor.  
  
Ken frowned. "Good question."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
TK touched the wall; it felt cool under his fingers. The smooth rock wall was strangely dry and well preserved. He closed his eyes and sighed, remembering a time when they were trapped in another maze, in Piedmon's castle, how they were running from one hall to the next without any idea of where they were going. It had been scary then, and the darkness now did not help the situation any even without Piedmon's presense.   
  
When TK opened his eyes again, something was different. He blinked, trying to determine if he as going crazy or not. The rocks.... the wall..... it was different now. Smoother, more even to the eye, smooth to the touch. They looked familiar, much too familiar. The even brownish beige stones looked like....... like the walls of Piedmon's castle.   
  
"Kari?" Kari shivered her answer. "Look at the wall."  
  
"What is it?" Sensing his sudden unease. And while she was chilled to the bones, he appeared to be completely unaffected by the cold. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Do they look different to you?"   
  
Looking, Kari shook her head. "Not really, but I wasn't really paying any attention to them."  
  
TK licked his lip and stared at the wall. Nothing changed. "Kari, do you trust me?"  
  
"Oh course."  
  
"I want you to do me a favor."  
  
"Name it."  
  
"Close your eyes." He leaned back and looked at her. Her eyes fluttered close and she held herself still. "Now picture Piedmon's castle." She frowned and shook her head slightly. "What is it?"  
  
"I can't really remember what he's castle looks like. I was so young."  
  
He nodded. "Okay let's try something else." He thought for a moment then blushed at where his mind had gone. "Okay, turn off your light."  
  
"What?" Her eyes opened in confusion.  
  
"Please."  
  
"Okay." She turned it off and found herself in the pitch darkness.  
  
"Now close your eyes again." He closed his own eyes and breath deep. "Now picture that night we spent under the stars. Do you remember?"  
  
"How can I forget?" She giggled and pictured that beautiful night sky filled with twinkling stars. "It was so wonderful." They elapsed into silence each remembering, picturing in their mind the night sky and the wonder of new love.   
  
Then TK gasped. "Kari, open your eyes."  
  
Kari's eyes opened slowly and she stared at TK's startled face before turning to look around.   
  
They were no longer in the labyrinth. They were in the meadow where they had camped out that night; the sky was lit by the bright star and campfire next to where they stood.   
  
"TK?" She looked at him in confusion and fear. "What's going on?"  
  
TK's blue eyes reflected her bewilderment. "That's what I'd like to know."  
  
To be continued.....  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hidden Passions (part 6)  
  
"THERE'S TRAPPED WHERE?" Tai yelled at Izzy as he suddenly felt the rising tide of panic for his little sister's safety.   
  
"Don't yell at me!" Izzy said turning facing the computer as he pulled up the subterranean maps again. "If they were on top of the desert area when they fell through, the would have landed in The Cavern of Illusion."  
  
"And how do we get them out?" Sora asked as he pulled Tai back, trying to sooth him to calmness again.   
  
"I don't know." Izzy said as he typed rapidly. "Maybe Genni has an idea."  
  
"Yes," Mimi nodded her enthusiasm. "Maybe he can help."  
  
"Calm down Tai," Joe said as he looked over Izzy's shoulders. "It wouldn't do you or Kari any good to be yelling at anyone."  
  
"Sorry," he sighed and sat down on the bed with Sora. "Just find an answer, okay?"  
  
"I'm trying." Izzy replied, looking at the maps again. "Let me see if I can use my tracker to locate the new team underground."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Izzy turned to smile at Tai. "No need. They're my friends too."  
  
Tai nodded.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"This is impossible!" Kari said as she pulled slowly away from TK to look around.  
  
"You don't have to tell me." TK looked slowly around. Only moments before, they had been trapped in a catacomb, now they were in the middle of a beautiful green meadow overlooked by a star-filled night sky. "But this would prove my theory."  
  
"You're beginning to sound like Izzy." Kari looked at him. "What's going on?"  
  
"Well, I noticed that the rocks on the wall in the catacombs seemed familiar and every time I thought about what they looked like, they became even more familiar. Like they were responding to my thoughts." TK frowned.   
  
Kari shook her head as her mind raced. "Okay, so you're saying that we somehow placed ourselves in that catacomb."  
  
"Exactly!" TK snapped his fingers and looked at her excitedly as his mind went through all the possibilities. "Okay, we received that e-mail from Izzy just before we fell. It said something about not stepping into the subterranean mazes. So what did we imagine when we woke up from the fall?"  
  
Kari nodded as she understood. "That we had fallen into the maze."  
  
"Right!"   
  
"But that still doesn't explain how?"  
  
"Hum..." TK rubbed his chin in concentration. "It was fake, an illusion."  
  
"Yeah?" Kari looked at him as he sat down to concentrate.   
  
"Kari," TK looked at her with clear blue eyes. "When we had to go to Piedmon's castle, we had to get all the digidestined together, remember?"  
  
"Yes, I remember."  
  
"Well, Matt told me that during that that time, he fell into a kind of depressing darkness. And everything around him was blocked out, so that he didn't know where he was or what was happening. What if that's kind of what this thing is?"  
  
Kari frowned. "You mean like something has us trapped within itself?"  
  
"Something like that and is using our minds to create an illusion around us. One so real that we won't even notice that is just an illusion."  
  
"I suppose it is possible."  
  
TK looked at her and stood up. He held out his hands toward her. "Okay, so we have to break this spell.'  
  
"How?" She frowned and looked lost.  
  
"Do you trust me?"  
  
She smiled. "Completely."  
  
"Kari," he squeezed her hand. "Look at my eyes. Don't think of anything else but me."  
  
She nodded and looked into his big blue eyes until she thought she would drown in those pools of purity. There was nothing else in the world but him. There was no one else in the world but them. He is everything; he is all that mattered.  
  
The meadow melted away slowly at first, then faster until all the colors swirled together and disappeared. TK and Kari did not pay any attention to it. They concentrated on one another, saw nothing but each other's eyes and only their presence is reality.  
  
TK was the first to look around and was nearly staggered by the sight of their real surroundings.   
  
Kari's mouth went slack as she too looked around. "Oh my goodness."  
  
The cavern was dim with gray walls and larger than most football stadiums. The ceiling was barely twelve feet in height, they had not fallen as far as they thought, only imagined it. The others stood around, still trapped in their own imaginations.   
  
Pastel color bubbles surrounded them, holding them in the illusion. A pale pink bubble was around Ken and Yolei as they stood talking softly, trying to decide which direction to proceed in. A yellow bubble encased Patamon and Gatomon as they stood patiently near Kari and TK, waiting for the next movement. Veemon and Armadillomon were trapped in a green bubble that stood between the blue one that held a scared Davis and the purple one that trapped a contemplating Cody. The orange bubble that held Wormmon and Hawkmon seem to be traveling in a slow circle around the pink one as the two digimons tried to find a way to get to their digidestined.   
  
"I don't believe this!" Kari looked horrified.  
  
TK shook his head as his mind raced for a solution. "This is.... I.... Oh geeze."  
  
"TK," Kari grabbed his arm as if to support herself. "We have to get them out."  
  
"I know but how?"  
  
They looked at one another with wide helpless eyes.   
  
To be continued.....  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hidden Passions (part 7)  
  
Patamon flapped his little ears poked his nose closer to the wall without scratching himself. "It's strange."  
  
"What is?" Gatomon asked.  
  
"It's like....."  
  
"Like what?" Gatomon looked up and frowned. She was slightly worried about her little friend. He's becoming a little more anxious. "What is it?"  
  
"I think TK knows I'm here!" He looked as startled by that as she was.  
  
"That's not possible. Digidestined can't sense digimons the way we can them. It's just not made that way." Gatomon said though she had a rather strange feeling that he was right.  
  
"But..." he said nothing more but stared at the wall. He was sure TK knew that he was here. He was sure of it.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
TK stared opened mouthed at his little buddy who few up to his eye level, only inches away.. "He knows." He turned to look at Kari who clung to his arm. "Kari, he knows that I'm here."  
  
"What do we do?" Kari asked, her eyes wide with concern as she looked down at a concerned Gatomon.   
  
"I'm sure." TK frowned and could nothing but stare at Patamon. Waving his hand in front of the digimon's face, he wondered if he could sense TK's presense there trying to get his attention. "There's no telling what could happen if we were to try to break the bubbles."  
  
"We can't risk them getting hurt."  
  
"Right." A line appeared between TK's brows. "As long as they are in there, they appear to be safe."  
  
"So, for now, we just let them stay there?" Kari looked troubled but she could not think of a better plan.   
  
With a sigh and a nod, TK sat down on the ground to formulate a plan. "I guess."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"This is getting us nowhere." Hawkmon complained. "I feel like we've been following this wall forever."  
  
"I agree." Wormmon sighed and stopped, his little feet ached from all the walking they've been doing. "Let's come up with a new plan."  
  
"What do you want to do?" Hawkmon asked, his eyes twinkling with excitement now that they've decided to do something other than do nothing but walk, or fly on his part.  
  
"I say we blast it."  
  
That took Hawkmon by surprise. "What if we hit them? Or the wall collapses on them? That was the reason we didn't try it hours ago."  
  
"And standing here or following the wall is getting us nowhere." Wormmon looked worried. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty nervous about this whole situation. Something doesn't smell right."  
  
"Well it's not me." Hawkmon said landing next to the eight-legged digimon. "If you're sure."  
  
"No, but what do we have to lose?"  
  
"How about our digidestined?"  
  
"There's that."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Yolei sat down with a sigh after walking for what seems like the longest time. "I think we picked the wrong direction."  
  
Ken frowned and looked further down. "I think you might we right. If we'd picked the right direction, we should have come up to someone by now."  
  
"Unless they all decided to get up and start searching."  
  
"Then we could all be spread out through this labyrinth." Ken sighed and shook his head. "In any case, this doesn't seem to be doing us any good."  
  
"You're telling me." She took her shoes off and rubbed her foot.   
  
Ken looked at the wall again. The grainy sand wall was still smooth to the touch. The curiosity is the crest symbols etched into them. He easily imagine a maze designed by the digital world looking very like this. He touched the crest of kindness symbol and shook his head. He will never get over the irony of him being the holder of the crest of kindness. Him, the digimon emperor. Someone up there really had a twisted sense of humor.  
  
"What are you thinking?" Yolei watched him with intelligent eyes.  
  
"Nothing important." He turned to face her again. "So what do you think our next move should be?"  
  
She shrugged. "You're the genius. You tell me."  
  
He didn't know what to do. So far, they've fallen into a maze, crawled around in the dark, lost their digimons, and followed a tunnel that seem to lead to nowhere. At the rate they're going, they'll be home before Christmas for 3000.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"So what does Genni say?" Mimi asked quietly from her position behind Izzy.   
  
Izzy shrugged his shoulders trying to get Mimi's pink hair away from his neck where it was tickling him. "The message is short. All it says is "trust in yourself." Not much help there."  
  
"No, that's not true." Sora said. "Remember Matt and that darkness? He trusted in his friendship to Gabumon and it got him. And Joe and Matt got me out of my funk when I began to doubt my abilities as a digidestined."  
  
"Yeah, but how does that help the others." Joe asked quietly. They others looked at one another for the answer.  
  
"Um... it may sound like a silly question," Mimi said with a smile. "But has anyone try to contact them via e-mail?"  
  
The all looked at one another but no one said a word. They had all just naturally assume that due to their position underground, the new team would not be able to receive transmissions.  
  
With a shrug and a sigh, Izzy turned back to the computer. "It's certainly worth a try."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"Hey, I've got mail." Kari said pulling out her portable computer.  
  
"Who's it from?" TK asked absentmindedly as he continued to stare into the bubble that contained his digimon. Patamon had landed on the floor, staring into the wall as if he actually could see TK. Their eyes met but only one pair could truly see.  
  
"It's Izzy." Kari murmured. "Hum... as message from Genni."  
  
"That's nice." TK said tilting his head, he was beginning to feel a little desperate. They've been trapped here for hours, and who knows that those illusion bubbles could do to a person or digimon. "What does he say?"  
  
Kari looked at him. "He says trust in yourself."  
  
TK turned to stare at Kari, his brows wrinkled with concern. "Trust in yourself." He understood that in some profound way. That was what he and Kari had done to get out of their trap. But he had understood the risk involved. The other may not. Could it possibly work?  
  
"TK? What are you thinking?"  
  
"Do you believe in taking a lap of faith?" TK asked with some doubt in his tone.  
  
She looked at him. "Yes."  
  
TK almost laughed. "Then I guess that's what we have to do."  
  
"Take a leap of faith?" Puzzlement could be easily read in Kari's eyes.  
  
"Yeah." TK sighed.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Caution was heavy in her voice. "TK?"  
  
"Kari, I want you to stand back." TK said getting onto his knees now.  
  
"TK, don't do anything rash."  
  
"Just stand back."  
  
"TK?" She was scared, terrified. "Don't!"  
  
TK shook his head and took a deep breath. "I hope this work." He looked Patamon in the eyes through the bubble. "Forgive me, Patamon."  
  
To be continued......  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hidden Passions (part 8-end)  
  
"TK, don't do anything rash."  
  
"Just stand back."  
  
"TK?" She was scared, terrified. "Don't!"  
  
TK shook his head and took a deep breath. "I hope this work." He looked Patamon in the eyes through the bubble. "Forgive me, Patamon."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"I don't understand!" Patamon cried in frustration. "Nothing around here makes any sense. It's like we're running in circles within ourselves." He huffed in helplessness.  
  
"Calm down Patamon." Gatomon could still Kari but she had moved some distance away. "Getting yourself worked up is not going to do any good. We just have to..."  
  
Her breath caught in her throat and she froze.  
  
A pale slender hand shot out from the solid wall and grabbed Patamon by both ears and yanked him into..........No, through the wall.  
  
"Ahhh....." Patamon's blue eyes were wide in a panic as he caught a glimpse of the fast approaching wall.   
  
"Patamon!" Gatomon screamed and rushed at the wall only to bounce back against the all too solid surface. Scratching desperately at it, she looked around in a panic. "Patamon! Where are you? What's going on?"  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"Ahhh......"  
  
TK let go the minute Patamon passed through the bubbled. "Patamon!"  
  
"TK!" He rushed into his digidestined arm. "What happened?" Turning back to look at the bubble that still encased badly frightened Gatomon.   
  
TK laughed. "I took a lap of faith."   
  
Kari rushed over. "Gatomon!"  
  
The frantic kitty was scratching at the bubble wall without prevail. Her eyes were wide with fear and panic. She had no idea what happened to her friend.  
  
"TK!" Kari turned equally frantic eyes at him.   
  
Getting around the now much smaller bubble, he reached in and grabbed hold of Gatomon's tail, not wanting to risk being scratched by her waving claws, and pulled Gatomon through the thin barrier. The bubble burst as a startled Gatomon came through.  
  
"What....what...." confusion was written all over her face.  
  
"Gatomon!" Kari rushed over and hugged the kitty as the cat leapt into the girl's arms.  
  
"How did.....what......we......" Gatomon seem incapable of finishing as sentence as she looked around startled. Taking a breath, she turned to Kari. "Could someone please explain?"  
  
Kari smiled happily and turned to TK. "Sure."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Ken looked at a dejected Yolei and wondered for a moment if there was anything he could do to help. She appeared more and more distraught as the minutes ticked by. The silence and darkness was beginning to get to him as well and they appear to not be making any progress.  
  
"Perhaps the key to getting out the maze is in these cravings on the wall." Ken said quietly.  
  
"They're just crest symbols." Yolei said and looked up at him with disturbed eyes.   
  
"What is it, Yolei?"  
  
"Are we going to be okay?"   
  
He didn't know what to say. Saying yes would be lying to her for he didn't know if they were going to be all right. But he didn't want her giving up hope either.   
  
"I'm sure the others will find us soon."  
  
Yolei eyed him grimly. "That was very diplomatic."  
  
"I'm sorry," Ken said with a shrug. "I just don't know."  
  
"Thanks," she sighed and got up to stand next to him, where there was more light. "At least you're honest."  
  
"I try to be." He replied.  
  
Yolei nodded and looked that wall again. "So, you think the secret is in the wall."  
  
"It's only a theory. I can't tell if it is or not."  
  
"It's something." She shrugged and dutifully studied at the wall.   
  
"Hi."  
  
Ken and Yolei turned around to the voice.  
  
"AHHHHH................"  
  
TK's face appeared on the wall behind them and winced as the scream echoed through the tunnel. "Ouch!"  
  
They both stared opened mouthed and pale as TK's ghostly head poked through some more and his hands suddenly appeared in the otherwise solid surface.   
  
"TK?" Ken's voice held volumes of doubt.  
  
"Yeah," he nodded slowly, knowing they were scared. "Um....I'll explain later. Could you guys just grab my hand?"  
  
Ken and Yolei stretched out timid hands, fearful of the otherworldly appearance of TK. Grabbing hold when they got close enough, TK backed out of the bubble, pulling them through with him. The bubble popped as the two left it.   
  
"What....." Ken and Yolei looked around startled, as all the incomprehensible ideas ran through their minds.  
  
TK sighed. "I'll explain once we get the others out. I really hate to have to do it six or seven times in a roll."  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
"And then the digimons blasted a hole in the ceiling and we went through. That's pretty much it."  
  
Sora and Tai handed everyone glasses of soda as the gathered around Izzy's room. Tai looked to TK. "So how did you know that it was all in your head?"  
  
"Something Matt said a couple of years back." TK said leaning against the foot of Izzy's bed. "The human mind is something that is powerful but vulnerable."  
  
Mat looked startled. "I said that?"  
  
The other laughed as they relaxed for the first time that day.   
  
Sora reached over and patted Kari on the knees. "So you and TK found a way to break the spell. That's so brave."  
  
Mimi smiled. "And so romantic. The prince and the princess working together to battle the evil that has enchanted them. Bet you never read that in a fairy tale."  
  
"My sister is not helpless." Tai pointed out.  
  
Kari laughed as TK blushed. "Well, TK came up with most of the plan."  
  
"Way to go, little brother." Smacking TK's shoulder with affection.  
  
"Okay," Izzy said from his usual position in front of his computer. "I've downloaded the maps into your D terminal. You won't be falling into any more of those caverns."  
  
"So, there was never a maze?" Cody asked, still rather befuddled.   
  
"No, it was just in your head."  
  
Davis looked puzzled. "But I ended up in a small hole in the ground. How come everyone else ended up in maze?"  
  
"Well, you're mind must have thought that you were going to end up in a hole." Izzy explained. "The others all took that logical next step after reading my e-mail."  
  
The looked of confusion did not disappear. "Then now come TK ended up with Kari, and Yolei and Ken got to stay together?"  
  
The two couples looked startled.  
  
TK cleared his throat and hesitated. "Well....it's probably because......I.....we........"  
  
Kari jumped in. "TK was carrying me, remember? We....were....so close that.....that.....the bubble must have just formed around the two of us.   
  
"Yeah, that's it." TK nodded his agreement.  
  
Davis nodded. "Oh."  
  
The older kids rolled their eyes at that particularly feeble explanation. But said nothing.   
  
"Wait!" Davis said. "Yolei and Ken weren't standing particularly close, how come they ended up in the same bubble?"  
  
Yolei hid behind her anger and frowned at Davis. "How the heck are we suppose to know?"  
  
Davis pouted but said nothing else.   
  
It was later, when everyone was leaving that Izzy approached TK. "TK, I have a theory. What to hear?"  
  
"Sure."   
  
Izzy pulled TK away from the others and his eyes twinkled as he leaned close. "Well, my theory is that your subconscious minds reached out to those dearest to you as you were all put into danger. A part of you wanted to protect and be with them. Unable to create a living illusion, the cavern gave you the real thing."   
  
"Oh." TK thought as much.  
  
With a smiled, Izzy pulled TK away from Cody as the little boy tried to hurry TK along since they were going to walk together with Yolei. "You and Kari, Ken and Yolei, must have had some hidden desire to stay together. Some sort of....connection?" His eyes filled with amusement as he teased the boy.  
  
TK blushed with embarrassment. "Listen Izzy......"  
  
"Relax, I can keep a secret." He winked and hurried him out the door.  
  
The end.....  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Omnia Vincit Amor  
Love Conquers All  
  
  



End file.
